Manufacture of tile



May 19, 1942.

A. H. STEWART MANUFACTURE OF TILE Original Filed Oct. 6, 1936 MMM @amPatented May 19, 1942 MANUFACTURE F TILE Andrew H. Stewart, Shields, Pa.

Original application October 6, 1936.` Serial No.

104,186, now Patent No. 2,145,103, dated January 24, 1939.

Divided and this application Mar 16, 1938, Serial No. 208,116

9 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved method of manufacturing and/orassembling a tile and a mount structure therefor, and particularly to animproved method of securing a mount element to a tile structure.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial Number104,186, filed October 6, 1936, entitled, Tile structure and method ofmaking, Patent No. 2,145,103, dated January 24, 1939. As pointed outtherein, it has been customary to use cementitious or plastic materialsor metal clips in connection with plastic materials for mounting tile ona building construction. However, such a mounting does not permit thedesired independent expansion and contraction of the tile withoutsacrificing seculty of the mounting. And, previous to the lpresentinvention, no one has been able to physically secure mount elementshaving characteristics or molecular structure unlike that of the tileupon which they are to be attached or mounted. The applicant hasparticular reference to the securing of va suitable mount element to theback face of a tile in such a manner as to permitsuilicient freedom ofexpansion and contraction of the tile independently of the mountingstructure without excessive cost. Tile projections imbedded ncementitious material hold the tile rigidly in position.

In view of the above and other considerations, it has been an object ofmy invention to provide a successful method for physically securingmount elements such as those of metal construction to tile of ceramic,vitreous, or other suitable materials at a very low cost.

Another object has been to provide a practical and/or efiicientprocedure for the manufacture of tile, and particularly for themanufacture of tile having characteristics of expansion and contractionwhen mounted.

A further object has been to devise an improved procedure for attachinga mount element to a tile or similar structure and/or to a procedure forconditioning the tile.

These and many other objects of my invention will appear to thoseskilled in the art from the description thereof, the claims, and theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal side elevation showing somewhatdiagrammatically a preferred manufacturing layout for producing tilestructure in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view in elevation through a tile having a layerof suitable material applied in accordance with my invention;

Figure 3 is a perspective view in elevation of a .Amount elementseparately fabricated in accord- -such as Figure 3 thereon; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view in elevation along the line V-V of Figure4.

Although it will be -apparent to those skilled in the art that anysuitable mount structure may be lapplied in accordance with theprinciples of my invention, for the purpose of illustration, I haveparticularly shown a specified form of structure 42 of channel formadapted to be utilized in a manner such as previously explained in mycopending application. The mount element 42 is provided with downwardlyprojecting punched out or pressed out strap-like mount leg and baseportions 43 that are adapted to rest upon a back face of tile 40, suchas shown in Figure 2. The tile 40 of ceramic, vitreous, or othersuitable material, is preferably coated with a molecularly adherent orphysically secured metal coating 4i under conditions which Willbehereinafter more particularly described. The mount element is thenpreferably attached to the face 4| vof the tile 40 by an area of metal44, see particularly Figure 4, that, as shown, overlaps the base or feetportions of the' straps 43 and abuts the facing 4l. It will thus kbeapparent that the leg members 43 are free to expand and contract and tothus exibly hold the tile 40 in position with respect to a suitablemount structure of a building construction.

In accordance with a preferred procedure, see Figure 1, where a vitreousmaterial such as glass is used, I have provided a forehearth I0, a feedorifice l l, and a feed trough i2. 'I'he molten material Vis thendirected to one or a plurality of mold openings in a mold table I3. Themold table is shown provided with a reciprocating presser plunger I4 anda reciprocating knockout I5. A continuous conveyor having suitablesprocket wheels 20, pivotally connected links 2i, and spaced-aparttable-like or tile-receiving portions 22, is adapted to successivelyreceive or take up preformed tile a and to carry them successively `to anumber of treating positions. I have shown a metal spray station 25 forapplying molten metal in globular form under pressure to a back face ofa tile a, a mount element feed station 26, and a mount element bondingstation 21." The spray device of station 21 may be similar to that ofstation 25, but the'former will preferably have a more limited area ofapplication.

At station 25, I preferably cover the entire back surface of the tile 40withvthe molten metal 4I, see Figure 2. At position 26, I preferablysuccessively discharge the mount elements 42 employing a suitable tripmechanism such as 28 having trip flngers 29 which segregates eachelement and feeds it in such a manner that each tile successivelypresented is provided with a suitably-positioned mount element 42. Gasnozzles 30 or other suitable heat producing means are provided at 28 forpreheating the mount elements 42. An annealing furnace 32 anneals thetile 40 with the mount element 42 attached thereto. Asbestos curtains 33are provided at'the entrance and adjacent the carrier openings of thefurnace for conserving the heat provided by any suitable means such asgas nozzles 34.

In accordance with my preferred procedure, the molten glass or othermaterial is fed to the press I3 where it is formed or shaped into anysuitable form, preferably with a substantially planar back face. Thetemperature of the forming operation is at and preferably above thedeformation temperature of the glass or other material and thistemperature may vary, depending upon the type of glass or other materialused. The range may be between 1200 and 3000 F. If flat glass is usedand preheated, the glass hav'- ing first been cut to a tile form, it mayonly be heated from 500 F. up to its deformation temperature: thistemperature depends on the type of glass used. Thus, preformed tile maybe used if it is preheated suiiiciently to cause adherence of the metalspray and then subsequently annealed. Each tile, after being thusformed, is successively fed to the continuous conveyor that iscontinuously moving and that carries each tile past4 the above-mentionedstations and finally through the annealing furnace 32. As shownparticularly in Figure 1, the tile a may be preheated by some suitablemeans such as a gas jet or nozzle 45. The need for preheating will bedetermined particularly from considerations of the time involved betweenthe hot forming operation of tlie tile and the bonding operation betweenthe tile and its mount element.

The mount elements such as 42 are preferably prefabricated in a suitablemetal working machine and successively fed from the chute 26 to a-position substantially centrally of each tile a. The mount elements arepreferably pre-l heated to substantially the temperature of the tilebefore they are positioned upon the tile. Any suitable form of heatingmeans such as the gas jets 30 or electrical heat may be utilized in thisconnection. Hot fastening or bonding metal is velocity-sprayed orimpacted upon the feet portions 43 in the spacing between the adjacentfeet and upon adjacent portions of the back face of the tile through theopening in the back of the mount element made by pushing or pressing hot(80G-1200 F.) from the shaping operation.-

It is thus apparent that station 25 can be omitted and the mount element42 directly attached tothe back face of the tile by means at the station29.v

However, as previously explained, I prefer to provide a backing layer ofsuitable material such as 4| of Figure 2.

Since the glass tile is still hot from the forming operation within therange above-mentioned, the sprayed metal physically adheres thereto andsecurely and rigidly attaches the straps or feet portions 43 to the backface of the tile. Each successive tile and its attached mount elementare then continuously carried to the annealing furnace where the glassis annealed; as the annealing temperature of the glass is lower than thesoftening or melting point of the mounting, the latter maintains itsoriginal shape and its strap portions still retain their resiliency.

If desired, each thus-formed unit may be then dipped in paraffin,asphaltum, or other cushioning medium to which cementitious materialwill not adhere. Such material will prevent any part of the tile itselffrom attaching `to the cement or plaster wall and will prevent the strapportions 43 from becoming rigidly imbedded in any backing material.

In the spraying operation, any suitable metal having desiredcharacteristics under the conditions set forth may be employed. I havesuccessfully utilized aluminum, aluminum bronze, nickel, steel, zinc,tin, copper, various alloys, etc.; I have, however. found that aluminumprovides a better reflecting surface than mo'st metals.

I have also applied molten metal in a volatilized or vapor state; avacuum is preferably employed in such a case. However, I prefer themetal spray method such as heretofore explained. I have also discoveredthat the mount elements should be reheated to a temperature conducive toa bonding of the material thereof with the sprayed metal and then inturn to the glass tile. For elements of a flexible material such asspring metal, I keep the temperature down as low as possible. In otherwords, the temperature is preferably kept below 1200 F., and if raisedabove this point, I contemplate reconditioning the metal material.

Although for the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown apreferred method of carrying out my novel procedure, it will be apparentto those skilled in the art that many modications. substitutions,additions, arrangements, and/or combinations thereof may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as indicated in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a. method of manufacturing a tile of ceramic or vitreous materialand of attaching a mount element of a material that will not normallyphysically adhere with the material of` which the tile is formed, thesteps of forming a tile shape from molten or viscous material, providinga suitable mount element having extending attachment portions, and whilethe shape is still hot from the forming operation, placing theattachment portions of said mount element in abutment with the shaped'tile, and spraying molten metal upon the attaching portions of themount element and upon an adjacent portion of the tile to a depthsuicient to secure the mount element to the tile, and annealing thetile.

2. In a method of manufacturing tile of vitreous or other suitablematerial and of attaching a metal mount element thereto, the steps offorming a tile from molten material, preheating a metal mount elementand placing it in abutment with the tile, and spraying molten metal uponadjacent portions of the tile and the mount element to form a physicalbond therebetween while the tile is still hot from the shaping operationan'd the element is still hot from the preheating operation.

3. In a method of manufacturing tile and of attaching mount elementsthereto, the steps .of continuously moving a series o f tile memberswhile successively subjecting the tile members to a metal pressure sprayapplication, positioning a mount element on the sprayed-metal portion ofeach tile member and metal bonding the thus-positioned mount elements tothe tile members by a metal pressure spray application thereto.

4. In a method as defined in claim 3, the step of preheating the mountelements to a metal bonding temperature before spray-metal bonding themto the tile members.

5. In a method of manufacturing tile of vitreous or other suitablematerial and of attaching a metal mount element thereto, the steps offorming the tile from molten material, providing a metal mount elementand heating it to a temperature of not more than 1200" F., positioningthe thus-heated mount element on the tile while the latter is still hotfrom the forming operation, and metal-bonding the mount element to thetile while the mount element is still hot from the heating operation.

6. In a method as defined in claim 5, wherein the metal bonding isaccomplished by a molten spray metal application.

'1. In a method of manufacturing tile and of attaching a mount elementthereto, the steps of moving a. series of tile members with their backsurface portions facing upwardly in a substantially horizontal planeWhile successively positioning mount elements upon the back planarsurface of each of the tile members, providing the` tile and mountelement with a hot-bonding temperature of not greater than substantially1200 F., and applying hot molten metal under pressure to adjacentportions of the tile and the mount element from the top planar side ofthe tile to metal-bond the mount element to the tile.

8. In a method of manufacturing tile and of attaching a mount elementthereto, the steps of moving a series of tile members with their backsurface portions facing upwardly in a substantially horizontal planewhile successively positioning mount elements upon the back planarsurface of each of the tile members, heating each tile and mount elementto a hot-bonding temperature, and while the tile and mount element arestill hot applying hot molten metal under pressure to adjacent portionsof the tile and the mount element from the top planar side of the tileto metal-bond the mount elementto the tile, and thereafter annealingeach tile-mount element combination.

9. In a method as defined in claim4 3, the step of heating the tilemembers to a metal-bonding temperature before successively subjectingthem to the metal pressure spray application.

ANDREW H. STEWART.

